Edward Elric - G.E.M. - 1/8 (MegaHouse)

Edward Elric A.K.A the Fullmetal Alchemist A.K.A Ed is the main character of the Fullmetal Alchemist series. After losing his right arm and left leg due to a failed Human Transmutation attempt, Ed became the youngest State Alchemist in history by achieving his certification at age twelve. Three years later, Ed has become fully engrossed in his search for the legendary Philosopher's Stone, an item with which he hopes to restore his younger brother Alphonse body.

This figure was made by MegaHouse and was released on November 25th, 2011. It was sculpted by ATTM.

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This is a nice package and it can be shipped with SAL. As typical from MegaHouse, they used a corrugated box for Ed. The window at the front allows you to see him completely but you cannot see too much of the optional parts he has. At the front you can see the G.E.M. series logo, the name of the series and the character's name. They picked up a nice font for Ed's name. At the back you can see the figure displayed as well as some warnings (choking hazard). The box has this nice detail of a transmutation circle printed all over it. I have read some people complaining about the size of this box. In my opinion, it is not an unexpected size considering that he comes with a nice number of optional parts.

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From the sides you can the name of the character as well as the figure displayed. You can also see Ed's symbol printed on the box on the sides.

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The upper and lower parts do not have a lot of detail. You can see the name of the series on the upper part and instructions on where to put the transparent peg on the lower part. MegaHouse recommends putting in under the hood.

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A typical two-piece blister was used to protect the figure. MegaHouse used tape and a wire to avoid the blister opening by itself (you cannot see the wire in the pictures because I removed it before, but it was between Ed's left leg and his normal AutoMail).

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A view from the sides.

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Inside the blister you can see that MegaHouse used plastic to avoid any kind of paint transfer. His coat was covered in plastic and his torso and AutoMail put on a plastic bag, no plastic for the extra face or the peg, tough.

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Here you can see Ed's face inside the blister. Inside the box you have this nice, red transmutation circle that was well worth a photo shot. You can use this as a background for Ed.

Base:9/10

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I do not usually give a 9/10 points to a round base, but a transmutation circle was a must for Ed's base and the final product was so nice that I could not help myself. It may look a little big at first sight, but if you are going to display him with his coat, the base turns out to be the perfect size. Its diameter is 12,5 cm.

It is easy to mount an unmount Ed on his base. You can display him without the base but I would not recommend it. First because his base looks awesome and second because he does not have too much balance, especially with the coat. It is at your criteria.

Sculpting:9/10

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Starting with his long, blonde hair, it looks superb. The details and that 'blowing with the wind' effect’ was well done. His ahoge looks adorable and the typical line that you can see that divides the two pieces of hair is not distractive at all. Also, it is easy to remove and put on again while changing faces. Talking about his face, it matches Ed's personality just fine. Comparing it to the prototype, the prototype's smiling face looked a little more like a forced smile. Here, it is a lovely big smirk, a nice fixed detail.

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His ponytail was well done and nicely detailed. Just looking at it, we can say this figure is based on early Ed's character design, which also explains his size but I am going to talk about it later on.

......Ed has nice muscles but they are not that exaggerated. His chest and abs look beautiful. The scars are visible and were a kind detail. The transition to the AutoMail was well done and the AutoMail itself looks gorgeous. It surprised me when I saw all those screws sculpted and all of them look great. ATTM really put a lot of effort on the small details.

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The AutoMail is kind of posable so you have at least three options to display it as shown in the pictures. Of course, you can think of your own poses for little Ed.

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I do not know if this was part of the original design but the AutoMail can be rotated. It goes all the way by 360° but it does not look that useful, exeptc for posing it at 90° to the left as shown in the first picture. I provided the other examples for you to see it, though.

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The muscles for his arm look really natural for a 16 years old boy who has been training for a long time. His white glove was well detailed and can be replaced with his other glove and the cape. His back looks gorgeous and the details on his ripped shirt are well done. The thorn parts are made of soft plastic so be careful not to break them while changing torsos. The details at the back of the AutoMail are almost perfect, the wires and screws look fantastic. That AutoMail sure looks like real metal! I could stare at the details of this figure all day.

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I do not want to start talking about the lack of private parts of a 16 years old boy so I will keep it to a minimum. The gloss effect on his pants kind of suggests that he is wearing leather. If that is the case, then ATTM did a nice job with those trousers of his. Not a single crease out of place and you can see that the transition from the torso to his trousers is barely to no visible.

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It is stare time! That butt is excellent and, again, if those parts are leather, ATTM did a really great job simulating them. Definitely, one of my favourite parts of this figure. The belt has some nice details and the chain of his watch is real. Do not play too much with it or it might break.

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Moving on to his legs, they kind of look girly but maybe it is only me. The creases at the back of his knees look fantastic and invite you to touch them. The way he spreads his legs gives him a nice, dynamic and masculine pose. The transition to his boots is really well hidden, you would never notice they are different parts.

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Closer pictures of those beautiful back-knees. Those creases look even nicer in person but if you think of it a little, it seems like his back knees are sucking his trousers. And now you will not be able to stop thinking about that. Sorry.

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His boots are no less detailed than the rest of the figure and they match perfectly the anime character design. ATTM even got right the lower part of his boots, an appreciated detail, even if it is not visible at all.

...Ed comes with two faces. A smirk face and a serious face. They are both very easy to install and uninstall and it is the same for his head. Do not push too hard because you might break his ponytail or even the joint. The head can be rotated a little but the ponytail gets in the way sometimes, like when you are trying to install the coat.

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The installation is very straight-forward so you will not have any kind of trouble with this. There is almost no risk of paint transfer in this zone.

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Here you can see both faces displayed. Myself, I prefer him with his beautiful smirk but you can display him at your heart's content!

......MegaHouse included a non-transmuted AutoMail to go with Ed. It does not differ too much from the other one except from the fact it is not a deadly weapon. Here you can see that the hands of both AutoMails can be switched over from one AutoMail to another. A nice detail that gives you even more display options!

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Again, the AutoMail is posable and you have three options to do so. It can be rotated 360° and the hands also rotate, but not that freely if you want to rotate it with his transmuted AutoMail.

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Here you can see that both AutoMail hands can be replaced by the other with the transmuted AutoMail.

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To exchange AutoMails, I recommend first removing the whole machine from Ed, then removing the transmuted AutoMail and then put the optional one. It may be a little tricky at first and it may break if you try too hard so calm you excitement first and then start posing this awesome guy.

...Ed also comes with an unripped shirt. The instalation is really easy and you will have no problems with it. You can exchange this hand with the one on his ripped shirt or with the coat.

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No sculpting issues to say about this torso. It may not be that suggestive if we compare it to the ripped one, but it looks nice and it is a good option if you want to display your Ed in a more "passive" position rather than seeing him like he had just came from the battlefield. His normal arm looks exactly the same as the other one.

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Another reason to consider displaying him with this optional part is that adorable "belly-shot." A shame you cannot see it with his ripped shirt. Nevertheless, you have other things to look there.

Regarding his size, according to the official height table. Ed's early design is only 1,50 m tall.

Considering this figure's 18 cm and the fact that he is 1/8 scaled, I believe it is an acurate size for little Ed. I compared him to my other G.E.M. figures and he fits perfectly there. That being said, let's move on.

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Moving on with the piece that made me preorder this guy. His coat is magnificent and I really wonder how ATTM sculpted this to make it look so natural and fantastic. Only thing that disturbed me was the lack of Ed's black symbol on the coat. In fact, with so many creases, I think it would have been a pain to get the symbol right, or even visible, so I guess it is not a big issue here.

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Every pointy part is made of soft plastic that might break if you drop the coat by accident, you must have terrible back luck if that happens because it looks pretty resilient. You can see that the glove to hold the coat is "included" within it. I truly believe they could have handled it differently because it is a real pain to get the coat on his arm at first.

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Here I am going to show you a little tutorial on how to put his coat. First, pick a torso, anyone is fine. Grab some beautiful plastic that comes in the box to avoid paint transfer and put it like shown in the picture. Connect his wrist with his hand on the coat, it might look like an impossible task at first because it is not the wrist that has to hold the entire coat by itself but it has to receive some help from the whole forearm to the elbow. Do not despair too much or you might end up with red paint all over Ed's arm. If you happen to have transferred some paint, erase it with a white eraser. Good luck with this because it is a real pain the first time and for the love of any deity you believe in, use the peg. You can put it under the hood or in any other place you wish but use it. I will not use it for the shots because of aesthetic purposes but if you are going to display him, use it. Believe me.

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Painting:9/10

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As always, MegaHouse did an excellent job painting this line of male figures. Every detail was treated carefully and I loved that gloss used on his trousers. I am glad it is not the kind gloss that leaves you blind in seconds. The shadows on his red coat were well executed and give it a nice effect. There were no inconsistencies with the painting that I could see and I am pleased with the final product.

Posing:9/10

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You have a lot many display options for this guy. I made a list of every item he possesses:

You practically own the world with this guy. You can make a different pose for every day of the week and I think you will have display options left. Have fun posing this guy! I know I will have it. The pose itself works just fine. MegaHouse managed to show Ed's funny and serious side in one figure and I am happy with the final product.

Enjoyment:9/10

I think that, if I enjoy this guy more, I will give him a 10/10. He may be small but he is so much fun. I wanted to have him in my hands since I first saw the prototype and now that I have him I do not want to let him go that easily.

If you had doubts about getting this figure, I hope this had helped you.

Yeeah. As a fan of both FMA and Squeenix, it's been more than a little annoying that SE doesn't give their blessings to other figure making companies more often. Especially when the results are better than their own official offerings. (The Ed Nendoroid Petit is a prime example of such awesomness!)
You are right, it is weird because other companies may also do a great job making figures of these series. Let's hope they can understand that soon enough.

Yeeah. As a fan of both FMA and Squeenix, it's been more than a little annoying that SE doesn't give their blessings to other figure making companies more often. Especially when the results are better than their own official offerings. (The Ed Nendoroid Petit is a prime example of such awesomness!)

CantisamaAwesome review. I like your tip on putting plastic between the coat and arm. I just checked my figure and sure enough some of the red had transferred to the elbow. Will try erasing and then insert the plastic.
-Update-
White eraser worked. Used the smallest plastic from the packaging (has a small hole in it, can't remember what part it came from) and used that to protect the elbow from the coat.
I am glad that the white eraser had worked. Once you had your Ed hold the coat you can remove the plastic and put the peg under the hood, though. The plastic advice was only when struggling to put the coat on the hand, but if you prefer it that way, go ahead. ^^ That small piece of plastic with a hole in it was from the head's joint.

I struggled so much with the coat that my enjoyment was a bit subdued. But there's no doubt that it's still an amazing rendition of Ed and I hope they continue the line!
Thank you so much for reading my review! That coat sure is a pain, but when you overcome that, he turns out to be really beautiful. I hope that MegaHouse makes Roy or even human form Al.